


Falling

by reminiscingintherain



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Louis' a stubborn little shit, M/M, Soulmarks, Soulmates AU, but a very loyal friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:21:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22023268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reminiscingintherain/pseuds/reminiscingintherain
Summary: "Are you already in a relationship?" Harry asked warily. "Because... I completely understand if so.""No, I'm not," Louis frowned."Then...?"Louis sighed heavily, rubbing a hand over his face."Look, I'm Zayn's best friend," he said bluntly.Based off the prompt:  you’re my soulmate and I know we’d have a happy ever after but you’re my best friends ex and if I dated you they’d never speak to me again and I don’t know what to do
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, past Harry Styles/Zayn Malik
Comments: 12
Kudos: 324





	Falling

**Author's Note:**

> A huge thank you as always to the wonderful [Lynda](http://wait4ever.tumblr.com/) for her amazing beta work, and pointing out a huge flaw that my illness-fuzzed brain missed.
> 
> Shout out to the beautiful inside and out [Evi](http://evilovesyou.tumblr.com/) for her enthusiastic cheerleading.
> 
> This is my final fic of 2019, and my 20th! Which is probably a bigger shock to me than anyone else haha! Thank you to everyone who's read my work and supported me this year - you're all amazing, and I'm incredibly grateful to each and every one of you. I wish you all a wonderful new year, and hope that 2020 is everything you hope for it to be!

The door slammed, making Louis jump and nearly drop his iPad on the floor before he looked around in confusion.

"Zayn?" he queried, raising an eyebrow.

"M'fine," Zayn muttered, throwing himself down onto the sofa alongside Louis, promptly resting his head in Louis' lap and curling up.

"You really look it, love," Louis said gently, carefully stroking his fingers through Zayn's hair. "You wanna talk about it?"

"S'nothing," Zayn mumbled, hiding his face in Louis' stomach.

"Okay," Louis conceded. "Well, I'll be here if you decide you do want to talk. No judgement, you know that."

As silence fell around them again, Louis went back to browsing through Etsy for something a bit different and unique for Lottie's birthday, instead of the same old twenty quid in a card and a round of drinks down the pub.

"Harry dumped me," Zayn eventually murmured.

"Huh?" Louis looked down with a raised eyebrow, his finger hovering over the 'buy now' button on a dress that he was sure she'd love. "What about Harry?"

"He dumped me," Zayn sighed heavily. "Like, he said there was no point, because we obviously weren't going to get our soul marks, so we may as well give up."

"That's a bit harsh," Louis frowned. "Loads of people don't have their soul marks these days."

"That's exactly what I said!" Zayn huffed as he sat up indignantly, but promptly deflated. "But he's got his heart set on it. He's such a romantic. I just... I hoped?"

Louis gazed at him steadily.

"I'm sorry, babe," he told him sincerely. "I know you were falling pretty hard for this guy. Even though you simply refused to introduce me to him, which I personally think is the biggest insult you could ever make to your best friend."

"Oh give over," Zayn rolled his eyes in amusement. "You know I just wanted to see where this would go first." He flapped a hand in an abortive gesture. "And clearly I was right to, because look where we are now."

"He clearly isn't worthy of you, bro," Louis assured him firmly. "You'll find the right one, I know it. Feel it in my bones and all that shit." He smiled softly, then pulled Zayn into a tight hug. "You deserve the whole damn world, Zaynie. If Harry couldn't see that, then he's a dickhead."

"But he's not," Zayn sighed. "He's lovely. I think you'd actually really get on."

"Yeah, well, we're never going to find out, are we?" Louis mused. "But I'll take your word for it."

~~~~

_ Three Weeks Later _

"Can you take this to table five, please!"

"On it!" Louis called, claiming the plates from the pass and quickly heading out between the tables for table five. "I've got a gammon with pineapple and new potatoes," he said, setting the plate down carefully. "And a mushroom risotto? I hope you both enjoy your meals," he finished with a smile, actually looking at the two customers, and taking a step back in surprise when he met a pair of green eyes. "Oh..."

"... hi..." a surprisingly deep voice rasped softly.

Louis glanced down at his right wrist as it flashed with a brief burn before it settled down immediately, leaving a coil of rope inked around it.

"Huh," he murmured. "Never expected that."

"M'Harry," a hand appeared in front of his face. "S'nice to meet you."

"I'm Louis," he replied slowly, carefully shaking it.

"Can I get your number? Cos like, it seems like we're soulmates," Harry drawled.

"Uh, maybe," Louis glanced up into Harry's eyes again. "I have to finish my shift. I'll, uh. See you later?"

Without waiting for an answer, he disappeared back to the kitchen, taking a deep breath as he leaned over the counter.

"What was that?" an Irish voice cut into his consciousness.

"What was what, Nialler?" Louis asked, closing his eyes briefly, before he turned to look at his friend and colleague.

"That," Niall repeated, gesturing towards the restaurant.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Louis replied stubbornly. "But we do have a lot of tables so serve, so we'd better crack on with it, hadn't we, lad?"

Niall eyed him for a moment, but relented.

"Don't think you're getting away with it though, Tommo," he told him firmly, picking up an order to take out. "We'll be discussing this later on." He watched as Louis started for the door. "And don't think I didn't notice your new ink!"

Louis froze slightly in the doorway, but continued on out to serve the waiting tables.

~~~~

By the end of his shift, Louis felt more tired than he had in a long time. He'd heard over the years of course, about how the meeting of mates and the gaining of marks tired the soul and therefore the body a lot more than most people would expect, but he really did not have the energy to unpack all of it right now. The shift had been busy - they'd had every table full for the entire time - and every time he crossed through the restaurant, he'd had the itchy feeling in the back of his head as he sensed eyes fixed upon him from across the room. Somehow, Harry had managed to convince Emmi, the manager, to let him keep his table for the entirety of the evening service, and that was definitely something he was going to have words about. But maybe tomorrow, after he'd slept for the next ten hours.

"See you all tomorrow," he called, grabbing his bag and jacket.

"Louis, hold up a sec!" Emmi called out to him.

Louis groaned and tipped his head back to gaze up at the ceiling for a moment, before he turned to face her, pasting a smile on his face.

"Yeah, love?" he asked.

"There's someone who's been asking to talk to you out the front," she said quickly. "He's been most insistent that he waits for you. I told him you've just finished your shift, so he's waiting out by the front door."

"Em, I'm tired, it's been busy, I'm going home," Louis sighed. "I have neither the time, the patience, nor the inclination to deal with that bloke right now."

"Well, Niall's out there chatting his ear off, so maybe you could just go grab him on your way home, instead?" Emmi suggested. "Else we'll never get out of here tonight."

"When you say 'him', do you mean Niall or Harry?" Louis grumbled quietly.

"Either would work," Emmi shrugged. "Just get them out of the damn building." She shook her keys at him mock-threateningly.

"Fine, fine," he rolled his eyes. "See you tomorrow."

Emmi waved him off as she collected the last of her things together and finished locking everything up out the back, while Louis made his way back to the front of house, sighing heavily as he spotted Niall chatting enthusiastically with Harry. Reluctantly, Louis stepped up behind them and cleared his throat.

"Sorry to interrupt, lads," he started. "Em wants to get the place locked up, so we need to vacate the premises."

"Is it that time already?" Niall asked, his eyes over-dramatically wide. "Wow. I'll have to head straight home, because surely it's past my bedtime." He clapped a hand on Louis' shoulder. "Tommo, you can see Hazza here off home, right?"

Louis glared at him, aiming a swift kick at his shin, but hitting the bar stool instead and hissing sharply.

"Fuck," he muttered.

"Serves you right, stop being a dick," Niall told him in an undertone. "Man the fuck up and deal with this - he's your soulmate. This is a good thing."

Louis took a deep breath, before he turned to face the man in question, and actually looked at him properly for the first time, and immediately bit his lip in surprise. The bloke - Harry - was absolutely... beautiful. There was no other word he could think of that would adequately describe the combination of soft chocolate curls, rosy pink lips, deep green eyes, and fuck - are those dimples?

Louis shook his head slightly to try and clear it a little. Aside from the shock of suddenly finding his soulmate, he'd been thinking while he'd been working, and he was fairly sure from all of the descriptions that he'd managed to wrestle and coerce out of Zayn, that this was Zayn's ex. And, soulmate or not, there was no way on this planet that Louis would ever go anywhere near his best friend's ex - it broke every damn rule of friendship, plus a few more of basic humanity.

"I apologise if I kept you waiting," he forced himself to say, keeping his tone formal and stiff.

"It's fine," Harry said quickly, giving him a soft smile. "I was hoping I could take you out for a drink?"

"I don't think that's a good idea," Louis immediately replied, forcing himself not to react as Harry's face fell. "I'm sorry if you thought that this would ever lead to anything, but I'm afraid that nothing ever can."

"Are you already in a relationship?" Harry asked warily. "Because... I completely understand if so."

"No, I'm not," Louis frowned.

"Then...?"

Louis sighed heavily, rubbing a hand over his face.

"Look, I'm Zayn's best friend," he said bluntly.

"You're -- oh, oh..." Harry paled noticeably, shifting his weight uncomfortably. "Um. Yeah. I, uh. I understand now."

Louis nodded slowly.

"That's what I thought," he muttered. "Look, I'm gonna head off. You can get home okay, yeah?"

"Yeah, yeah of course," Harry nodded slowly. "See you a-- I mean. Bye."

~~~~

_ Four Weeks Later _

"Okay, you're starting to piss me off, Tommo," Zayn stated bluntly, after another evening of Louis sitting with a single bottle of beer, one hand rubbing at his soulmark on the other wrist. "I'm gonna call H, and you're going to speak to him and sort this shit out."

"No, no you're not," Louis replied immediately. "I made myself perfectly clear when I met him."

"Babe, I admire your loyalty, and I promise I appreciate it," Zayn said patiently. "But it's really not necessary, especially as it means you're ignoring and avoiding your fucking soulmate because of it."

"You said he was a dick," Louis pointed out.

"That's cos I was hurt," Zayn rolled his eyes. "I'm over it, I promise. And you should just go for it. He's a nice bloke."

"That's not the point," Louis said stubbornly.

"What is the point, then?"

"That I'm not going to go anywhere near one of your exes. Bro code rules, you know that."

"Not when it comes to soulmates, you twat," Zayn sighed. "Soulmates trumps all, how many times do we have to go through this now?"

Louis huffed and folded his arms across his chest as he leaned back on the sofa. Zayn watched him for a moment, then rolled his eyes and pulled Louis into his arms.

"I love you, you're my brother, and I'm so grateful to have you in my life," he said softly. "But you're gonna make me feel like utter shite if you keep ignoring the fact that you've found the other half of your soul, just on the basis that I dated the bloke for a couple of months and we didn't work out." He squeezed Louis gently. "You've been a miserable sod for weeks, ever since you got your mark. This is not how finding your soulmate should be. You should be happy and skipping through fields of sunflowers and all that sappy shit."

"You're really selling it, Malik," Louis muttered as he curled closer to Zayn. "Sappy shit indeed. I'm not about to go skipping through any fields - you know it'd set off my hayfever. Not gonna make me look very attractive, is it? Red eyes, red nose, sneezing every five seconds."

"You are the most dramatic and awkward person I've ever met," Zayn told him affectionately. "I have no idea why in the world I put up with you."

"Because you love me," Louis declared. "And you fucking know it."

Zayn rolled his eyes and sighed heavily, running his fingers through Louis' hair.

"I do," he relented. "But I really want you to at least meet up with Harry for a cuppa or something. Please. For me?"

Louis huffed quietly, but nodded slowly.

"Fine," he muttered. "But it'll have to be after Christmas."

"Nope, tomorrow," Zayn said firmly. "I want you sorted and happy before you bugger off home for your birthday."

"Oh for fu--" Louis huffed again. "Fine. But you're organising it."

"Not a problem, I'll text him now."

"Why the fuck do you still have your ex's number in your phone?"

"Because he's a nice lad, and we've actually been texting for a while," Zayn said unexpectedly. "Just like, keeping in touch and shit. He sends me his shitty jokes, and I pretend to be amused." He chuckled. "There's a lot of funny cat pictures too."

"You are so fucking weird," Louis said slowly.

"Maybe," Zayn shrugged a shoulder. "But he's a good lad, and he'll be good for you." He gave Louis a pointed look. "Clearly the fates think so too, making you soulmates and all."

"Oh fuck, mate, will you give it a bloody rest about the soulmates thing?" Louis groaned as he sat up, running a hand through his hair. "It's really not that big of a deal. It's not like I'm... pining, or whatever."

"I don't think I ever said you were," Zayn replied with a raised eyebrow. "You came up with that description on your own." He chuckled softly. "But I think you're probably spot on with that particular term."

"I just said I'm not fucking pining," Louis said flatly. "Stop being a knobhead."

"You keep rubbing your soulmark, I think without even realising," Zayn pointed out.

"Fuck sake, Malik," Louis rolled his eyes as he stood. "I thought you were anti-soulmates."

"I was," Zayn agreed. "Until you found yours. And I watched as you denied him for me. I'm sorry you felt you had to do that."

"You make me sound so selfless," Louis grumbled. "I'm really fucking not."

"Just trust me, okay?"

"Fine, fine. I'll leave you to your meddling. Sort me out a bloody soulmate. Apparently for Christmas."

"It's a double present, the kind you hate the most," Zayn smirked. "Covers your birthday too."

"Fucker."

~~~~

Louis shifted his weight awkwardly from one foot to the other as he stood outside the Costa Zayn had told him about. He'd been unceremoniously kicked out of a taxi less than ten minutes before, and told to stay put until Harry got there or find himself without his bag to take up to Donny, so he'd be left with the clothes his mum still had from when he was 18 and living at home. And as he'd sworn off of red jeans and braces long ago, he figured it would be a whole lot easier to just suck it up and get this meeting over with.

He sighed heavily and glanced down at his phone. He was here, ready and waiting, for this bloke who was oh-so-desperate for them to meet up and make things happen or whatever between them, but who then keeps him waiting. Okay, he reluctantly relented as he glimpsed the time again, it was only three minutes. But that was hardly the point, in his opinion.

Just as he was considering calling Zayn to send a cab back for him, a voice called his name. Louis looked around uncertainly, trying to locate it amongst the bustle of last-minute Christmas shoppers.

"Hi!" Harry came jogging up to him, smiling brightly.

"Hi," Louis said warily, looking at Harry and taking his appearance in.

Harry was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans, a pair of black Vans on his feet - much like the ones Louis had in his wardrobe at home - a large, oversized baggy lilac knitted jumper, and a tan shearling jacket, with his curls all tucked into a Green Bay Packers beanie.

"Sorry I'm late," Harry was apologising. "Completely forgot it was only three days before Christmas, and didn't allow extra time for travelling." He shook his head slowly. "Some people are so disorganised, it's ridiculous - I finished my shopping weeks ago, got it all wrapped by the end of last week. Not sure why people get so flustered about it all." He stopped and bit his lip. "Sorry, I'm rambling. How are you?"

"I'm okay, thanks," Louis nodded slowly. "Got a few bits left to get for my youngest siblings after this, if I'm honest. But just little bits, some chocolate, couple stocking fillers that me mum wanted me to grab."

"Siblings?" Harry raised an eyebrow. "And stocking fillers? How old are they?"

"The smallest twins will be five in the new year," Louis said warily. "Then the next pair are nearly sixteen. Then Fizzy's eighteen, and Lottie's 21. I'm the eldest," he finished with a shrug.

"Wow," Harry gazed at him, his eyes wide and starry. "I bet Christmas is magical with all of them around."

"Well, it's definitely noisy," Louis chuckled, before he shivered hard. "Shall we go inside for a drink? Might be a bit warmer than out here?"

"Oh! Yeah, yeah, that sounds like a good plan," Harry nodded enthusiastically.

He quickly jumped to the door, pulling it open for Louis to go through first.

"Thanks," Louis murmured, passing by and into the hot cafe, peering around the small space in the hope a table would be available.

"Over the back," Harry mumbled against his ear, making him jump slightly. "You go sit, I'll grab the drinks. What are you having?"

"Uh, I'll, um, I'll have an Irish Velvet hot chocolate, please," Louis stammered, feeling a frisson of  _ something _ run down his back at the feel of Harry's warm breath on his skin. "With cream and chocolate on top," he added quickly, before he slipped between the mass of bodies waiting for their drinks at the counter to reach the table tucked away at the back of the room and sitting down.

He took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair, trying to get himself together a little as he shrugged out of his jacket. This was already going far differently than he had expected. Instead of being awkward and potentially horrible, with Harry proving just how awful he was - he dumped Zayn, so he couldn't be all that nice - he was charming and sweet, asking after his family and buying Louis' drink. Maybe they could go somewhere with this...?

No, Louis shook his head firmly. He had to be strong. No matter what Zayn said, no matter what fate said, him and Harry couldn't be a thing. He'd never really put a lot of stock in the soulmates thing - well, maybe when he was a kid, but who hadn't? They were all raised on those fairytales, it's not exactly  _ that _ strange - so why should he really change his whole perspective now? He just had to be brave, hold his own, and tell Harry straight that nothing was going to come of this, so he needs to move on with his life without Louis.

At that moment, the man who had taken up so many of Louis' thoughts appeared with a tray containing two large mugs towered high with whipped cream.

"You said you wanted cream, yeah?" Harry smiled, setting a mug in front of him.

"Uh, yeah," Louis said, staring at it. "But I wasn't expecting half a bloody dairy."

"Yeah, I think the girl behind the counter got a bit carried away," Harry shrugged. "I think she was trying to give me her number as well," he added, pulling a face.

"Ooh, barking up the wrong tree?" Louis asked with a chuckle.

"Very much so," Harry agreed. "Especially as I've found my soulmate now, and he is most definitely a bloke, right?"

"Last time I checked," Louis flickered a smile.

"So, how do you want this to go?" Harry asked, taking a sip of his hot chocolate and eyeing Louis carefully. "Like, can I take you on a date? Are we taking this slow?"

"Oh, jeez, Harry," Louis sighed heavily, rubbing at his face. "I thought I'd made it clear that it wasn't going to happen?"

"But, I thought you changed your mind? That's why you agreed to see me? Zayn said that you'd rethought everything."

"Zayn did? You spoke to Zayn?"

"Yes? Is that not why you're here?"

"I thought he'd just texted you, not actually spoken to you," Louis grumbled. "I could literally slap that boy."

"And you definitely don't mean that," Harry pointed out. "He just wants us both to be happy, you know that."

"I do, but he's still an interfering little shit."

~~~~

Time seemed to both pause and fly by as they chatted quietly together in the corner of Costa. Harry didn't broach the topic of their potential relationship again, and Louis tried to deal with his ridiculous - even to himself - mental block over the whole thing. The more Louis learned about Harry, the less he was able to rationalise his reasons for not wanting to be with the man, especially as Zayn had explicitly given his blessing for them. It had definitely reached the point where it was Louis’ own stubbornness that was keeping him from relenting to any chance of a relationship, than loyalty to a friend. As that realisation dawned, he inwardly sighed - things were definitely going to wind up in a whole different direction than he’d intended when he’d arrived earlier.

Another round of drinks, accompanied with warm mince pies and clotted cream, and the talk turned to how they were spending Christmas. Both were heading back up north to be with their families, and Louis let slip that his birthday was on Christmas Eve.

"A Christmas baby!" Harry exclaimed gleefully.

"Oh god, don't you start," Louis chuckled, rolling his eyes playfully as he took another sip of his hot chocolate. "Zayn loves to tease about that."

"But it's cute! It's like you were a present for your Mum," Harry told him firmly.

"Yeah, I'm sure she were right thrilled to be in pain for a good twelve hours, trying to push me out," Louis snickered. "And then have me screaming and squalling all day Christmas. Aye, her, me Nan, and me Grandad were right excited. A proper Christmas, that were."

"Your accent comes out a lot stronger when you're talking about your family," Harry observed with a fond smile.

Louis shrugged a shoulder carelessly.

"Not about to deny where I come from, lad," he said. "I am who I am, take me or leave me, y'know what I mean?"

"Definitely wanna take you," Harry nodded. "I know we've been avoiding the talk for a bit, but I can't leave for Christmas without knowing how things are going to go down between us."

Louis took a deep breath and sat back in his seat, gazing at Harry steadily.

"Well," he began. "I think... I mean." He huffed softly and rolled his eyes at himself.

"Just say it," Harry interjected. "Blurt it out however it comes in your head, and we'll deal with it afterwards."

"I think I wanna give us a go," Louis said in a rush, before he leaned forward a little. "I mean. I want us to take it slow. But..." He ran his fingers over the rope on his wrist. "This is the most comfortable I've felt since the mark appeared. And I'm pretty sure that's got everything to do with you."

Harry bit his lip, keeping quiet as he watched Louis articulate his thoughts.

"So, I figure, that maybe this is how it's supposed to be, after all," Louis sighed, rubbing a hand over his face and rolling his eyes at himself. "I mean, clearly fate thinks we should be together, soulmarks and all that."

"I like that they fit in with the ink we've each already got," Harry blurted out, before covering his mouth with a hand, whispering a 'sorry' from behind it.

"I agree," Louis chuckled, then reached out to pull Harry's hand away. "You don't need to censor yourself with me, Harry. I kinda wanna know all about you and what you think. So. Please."

"Well, I was giving you room to talk," Harry explained slowly. "But I basically agree with everything you just said. I would love to give us a go, and I would love to see where we can take this. Us."

"Well, okay then," Louis nodded slowly. "Let's see what happens."

~~~~

_ A Year Later _

"Louis!"

"What?"

"Mum wants to know where you put the presents you brought!"

"Who the fuck said I even brought any presents for you bunch of terrors?"

"I'm gonna tell Mum you said fuck!"

"Louis William Tomlinson, get your butt down here!"

"Ooh, you're in trouble now," Harry rumbled softly next to him.

"I had no idea that Daisy was such a snitch," Louis sighed. "There's sibling loyalty for you."

"She's a twin, course she's not gonna show you any loyalty," Harry shrugged a shoulder. "That's all reserved for Phoebs. You should know that by now." He glanced over at the bedroom door. "And you'd best get downstairs before your Mum does actually come up and kick your ass. Cos you know she will. And you know that I won't be able to help you."

"Some soulmate you are," Louis huffed.

"Oh, babe, I love you, and would protect you to the ends of the earth and beyond, you know that," Harry protested. "But there's no way in hell I'm getting between Jay and one of her kids when she's on a righteous rampage about swearing. She's a lovely, but very scary woman."

"And you, my love, are a wimp," Louis told him, leaning over to press a soft kiss to his lips. "Come get the remains later?"

"I'll be down to memorialise you in ten minutes, I swear. Just gonna grab a quick shower."

"See you in a bit, love," Louis said softly.

**Author's Note:**

> [[Rebloggable tumblr post](https://reminiscingintherain.tumblr.com/post/189945190765/falling-reminiscingintherain-t-4343-words)]


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